


To pull back from the edge

by Bl4ckHunter



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Crime, Friendship, Other, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:20:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26958703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bl4ckHunter/pseuds/Bl4ckHunter
Summary: One-shot story. As Barry tries to solve a murder, he befriends a local resident in a nearby motel, only for it to end in a tragedy.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Patty Spivot
Kudos: 4





	To pull back from the edge

**Author's Note:**

> Something that randomly occurred to me after re-watching CSI TV series. For the sake of this story, no speedster powers for Barry here and it's Barry/Patty fic.
> 
> To WestAllen fans, you are aware I don't support WestAllen and I did nothing here that would bash or criticize WestAllen or Iris, even though I don't deny I dislike the pairing and the character in the show, so you are only going to be wasting your time trying to roast me with your flames and I'm not gonna give a crap anyway, it's all gonna be deleted and ignored, so don't like it, move on, get lost and look for WestAllen elsewhere.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.

Barry was approaching the motel, where was a 17-year old girl at the car nearby as he smiled at her. "What's your name?"

"Allegra. And yours?" Allegra asked.

"I'm Barry." Barry introduced himself as he was about to enter the room that had been set up as a crime scene.

"Barry. So what happened?" Allegra asked curiously.

"Well, Allegra, my job is to find out." Barry said.

Barry groaned upon smelling the rot as on the floor was lying a dead man as he wrinkled his nose.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Julian said. "Fresh wound at the back of the head…" He gestured. "Body's still warm."

"So where's that smell coming from?" Barry wondered as he pointed at the rot on the shirt.

"Our dead guy's name is Marcus Becker." Patty said as she picked a revolver with her gloves. "One shot fired from his revolver but no gunshot wound."

"And he may have a hotel key but no luggage around." Eddie explained as he looked around and showed Barry some kind of a remote. "Found this in his pockets."

"A garage opener?" Barry wondered before he looked around and found blood on the table and then looked up and then noticed a hatch before he noticed something leaking from the small hole in it. "Julian, you better…"

Julian looked up, just as some stinky fluid fell on his face and he groaned in disgust and Patty retched.

"Ew!" Patty wrinkled her nose.

"No. That _did_ not just happen." Julian backed away as the fluid dropped from the ceiling.

Barry went out just as Joe approached. "The previous manager, Edward Burke, disappeared last week, the new guy just started today, so the office is a mess. There."

The manager then went out with a sheet.

"So?" Joe asked.

"Here. Marcus Becker. Checked in last Thursday. Paid for one night. No record of him checking out." The manager said as he pointed at the name on the list of guests.

"Can you open the crawl space above Room 7?" Barry asked, gesturing to the motel room next to the crime scene and the manager looked confused. "Does every room have an access panel?"

"Beats me. I just got here. But you're more than welcome to take a look." The manager said as he went to his office and took the key to Room 7 and then unlocked it for Barry.

Barry picked a ladder and opened the crawl space in Room 7 as he was about to look inside before he heard a female voice.

"So, you solved the case?"

Barry turned his head and noticed Allegra standing at the door, curious.

"Not yet, Allegra." Barry said.

"Can you tell me what happened? I'm not really afraid of this creepy stuff." Allegra smiled, as she leaned onto the wall, crossing her arms.

"I can see that." Barry nodded.

"Allegra, leave the man alone!" The male voice called out.

Allegra sighed as she turned to Barry again. "If it were up to my Dad, I'd be locked in my room all day, but I told him, 'Forensics is just science, you go to school for it, you know?'" Barry looked flattered as she examined Barry with her eyes. "But you don't really look like my chem teacher."

"Guess I'm gonna take that as a compliment." Barry chuckled.

A moment later, Eddie entered. "Bar, you do realize the crime scene is the next room, right? Or is the yellow tape here too?"

"Eddie, there's something dead up there." Barry gestured to the ceiling. "Could you lend a hand?"

Eddie nodded as he and Barry opened the panel above them and both of them groaned as the stench got a lot stronger and Eddie peeked in with a flashlight.

"You see something up there?" Barry called out.

"A dead guy. Must have been dead for weeks." Eddie coughed from the smell, covering his nose as he found the corpse in the ducts.

* * *

"Edward Burke. The missing manager." Patty said as she read the file, once they returned to the precinct.

"Plus, a stash of cash inside the hatch and also in his pockets." Barry said, picking a plastic bag with a strap of cash.

"Not by choice." Patty said as he showed them the file. "Got arrested the same day he checked into the motel for violating his ex's restraining order against him."

"So, once he got the chance, he went back to the motel to retrieve his money." Barry realized as he narrowed his eyes. "Why would he shoot the guy who tried to steal his cash, even though he must have been dead for…"

"…approximately a week, judging from the decomposition and presence of maggots but it was accelerated by the extreme heat and lack of airflow in the crawl space." Dr. Caitlin Snow, the police coroner said as she entered with the autopsy file and showed a bullet in a glass vial. "I found a bullet in his abdomen, no signs of hemorrhage in his abdominal cavity, no bleeding in the muscle or intestinal walls."

"So he was shot after the death." Patty realized.

"Cause of death was what?" Barry asked.

Caitlin showed a photo of the burned palms of hands. "Silvery wounds. Consistent with electrical burns. Cardiac arrest."

"He was electrocuted." Patty deduced and Caitlin nodded.

"He was in the crawl space, during these times, it can be hot in there like in the oven and sweat makes for a good electrolyte." Caitlin explained.

"He must have touched some exposed wiring, which electrocuted him to death." Barry noted.

* * *

Julian was in the crawl space as he looked around. "Allen, I see a receiver to remote control to the hatch. It's wired to the access panel of the hatch. Looks like the circuitry is wired to the hatch, like an electromagnet." He pulled out the battery and opened the hatch.

"This reminds me of my eight grade science fair project." Barry said.

Julian nodded. "A homemade electromagnet. Wires wrap around a rod…"

"…the current then creates a magnetic field." Patty said as she turned to the door. "One of the guests said that the manager kept beating on this room's door every night, saying that the cops were coming but I don't recall any crank calls to the precinct."

"It must have been a setup." Julian nodded.

"So… Becker checks into the room with a load of dirty cash. The manager, Burke, scares the guy into telling him that the police was coming, causing for Becker to hide his money in the hatch above. Burke plans to profit off guys like Becker and uses his remote to lock the hatch. Becker leaves, Burke tries to get the money but the batteries in his remote are dead." Barry said.

"So, Burke tries to crawl in from above, tries to fix the lock but due to the heat in the crawl space and sweaty hands, which are good electrolyte and the exposed wiring, Burke gets electrocuted." Julian deduced.

"A week later, Becker comes back and tries to retrieve his money… but why shoot Burke, if he was already dead?" Patty wondered.

"I don't think he knew that Burke was up there." Barry said as he gestured to the blood on the drawer. "Remember, the panel was still magnetized."

"And there was a bullet missing from his gun." Patty said, catching onto his thoughts. "So, Becker picks the ladder, climbs to the panel, tries to use his gun to bang open the panel…"

"…the gun gets magnetized to the panel by accident and… bang!" Julian said, gesturing a gunshot.

"The recoil causes for Becker to fall, bang, he hits the back of his head on the drawer and he's dead." Patty realized.

* * *

Barry went out as he approached Allegra's father and showed him a card. "Mr. Garcia. In case decomp gets into your carpet, here's the number for cleanup."

"Thanks." Mr. Garcia nodded.

Barry turned and saw Allegra riding around on a bicycle with another girl. "She makes friends quickly."

"That's her cousin. Esperanza. They've been as close as sisters, actually, since my sister-in-law moved in with me and then I got custody of her after her mother passed away." Mr. Garcia explained.

"That's nice." Barry said.

Barry then followed Patty as they were about to leave the motel. "Making friends with teenagers, Barry?"

"She seems like a nice girl." Barry said as he turned to Patty. "Hey, would you wanna go get a coffee?"

Patty considered. "Sure."

* * *

Sometime later, Barry was asleep, when his phone rang and he turned his head, waking up slowly, just as he heard shower from the bathroom and he answered the call. "Hey, Joe."

" _Barry, I need you and Patty to get back to the motel. Now._ " Joe said.

Patty had gone out from the shower, with a towel wrapped around and her hair wet. "What's going on?"

"Get dressed, it's the motel again." Barry said.

* * *

"Esperanza says that she and Allegra were playing around with their friends at the bonfire, Esperanza had a drink and the next thing she knew, she woke up in Allegra's living room with her pants off and Allegra's Dad standing over her and she ran off as he tried to grab her." Joe explained and Barry and Patty seethed in anger, realizing what had happened.

"What about Allegra and her Mom?" Patty asked.

"They said that they heard noises that woke them up and then saw Esperanza run out, they have no idea what happened." Eddie said.

Barry entered, when Mr. Garcia was just sitting and staring in front of him. "Mr. Garcia. Would you mind if we collect your underwear?"

Mr. Garcia sighed and went into the bathroom for some privacy before he went out with his underwear that Barry, uncomfortably and with his gloves on, put into the evidence bag.

"What happened?" Joe asked.

"I was sleeping, I swear. I heard noises and then went out and saw Esperanza take off." Mr. Garcia said.

"What was she doing here in the first place?" Patty asked.

"She has a spare key. Allegra gave it to her. They like to hang around each other a lot. My wife allowed it." Mr. Garcia said.

"We need you to put on some clothes and come with us to the precinct for a statement." Joe ordered.

* * *

"I'd like to go over what happened again." Patty said, interrogating Mrs. Garcia.

"We stayed here all night." Mrs. Garcia said.

"Witnesses saw your car at the bonfire. Did someone steal your car? Did you report it?" Patty asked.

Mrs. Garcia sighed. "No. I went there."

Allegra whirled on Mrs. Garcia, overhearing the conversation. "You were following us?"

"Allegra, you are hanging around with dangerous people and I wanted to get some pictures and see for sure if something was—"

"Did people see you there?" Allegra demanded.

"Allegra, I—"

"You are unbelievable! I hate you! I hate you!" Allegra snapped.

"Annie, why don't you take Allegra and buy her a soda on us, OK?" Patty said, turning to one of the officers, who nodded, as the latter kept glaring at her mother.

"Miss, if you could please follow me." Officer Annie said as she gently grabbed Allegra by her shoulder and pulled her away.

"You do realize that stalking is a criminal offense, do you?" Patty pointed out, turning to Mrs. Garcia. "I need to take your camera as evidence."

* * *

Barry and Patty were in the precinct in the corridor as they were drinking coffee.

"That motel must be haunted or something." Patty noted.

"Something crazy keeps going on there." Barry nodded.

"It never tires you?" Patty asked. "I mean, you can't stop or solve every crime."

"I have to do whatever I can to get justice, even if it might be too late. Otherwise, why am I doing this, if I can't prove my Dad's innocence?" Barry said.

"Not everytime we can get justice the right way." Patty said. "And when we do, by that time, it could be too late but we can't let our failures hold us back."

They smiled at each other and held hands, as they started kissing. "You're a good man, Barry and you never let the odds bring you down, if they aren't in your favor."

"Esperanza lied." Eddie said as he went out. "She tried to pin it on Allegra's parents and drugged herself, since she was envious of Allegra due to Allegra distancing herself from her and to Esperanza hanging with the wrong crowd and Esperanza tried to frame Allegra's Dad for raping her. One of their friends saw her spike herself a drink on purpose."

* * *

A couple of days later, Barry returned to the motel and saw Allegra outside, with a laptop, staring as he smiled at her. "Hi, Allegra. Are your parents around?"

Allegra was silent as Barry tried to smile. "OK, look, I came here to return your Mom's camera and her stuff, if you could…" He placed the bag with their belongings on the table next to her. "Sorry, if I interrupted you."

Barry turned, about to leave as Allegra spoke up. "You wanna see something, Barry?"

Barry turned to her as she showed him the laptop with various posts on social media, criticizing Allegra for turning her back on Esperanza and calling her a freak due to her mother stalking them and Allegra being an awful friend. "And the hits just keep coming."

Barry remembered the people mocking him for his father's alleged role in Barry's mother's death. "Ignore it. It's gonna blow over soon enough."

"You don't get it! My life is over!" Allegra snapped as she got up and stormed off to her room and Barry sighed, having no idea how to comfort her.

* * *

Few months later, Barry and Patty returned to the motel as it was once again turned into a crime scene.

"Who's the victim?" Barry asked.

"17-year old girl, she lives here with her parents, I recall you used to know her, Bar." Eddie said with a look of sympathy and sadness as Patty then noticed the middle-aged man and woman Joe was interviewing.

"The Garcias?" Patty asked, confused.

Barry felt a pit of dread form in his stomach as he neared the body and lifted the sheet, realizing who was the victim as he looked sadly at her tilted head and met her lifeless eyes staring into nowhere.

"Allegra…" Barry whispered.

"And we found this in her mother's bedroom and in the corner of the motel." Julian said as he showed them a bloodied shirt and bloodied scissors in a plastic bag.

* * *

"Why did you murder your daughter? Your fingerprints are on the murder weapon." Eddie said as he and Patty interrogated Mrs. Garcia in the interrogation room, showing her the evidence photos.

"I didn't mean to. It was an accident. She dyed her hair like Esperanza and I couldn't stand it." Mrs. Garcia said. "I told her to dye it back or I'd cut it off. She stormed off, and I picked the scissors."

"You were going to cut her hair off?" Patty asked.

"I just wanted to scare her, that's all. She was starting to get more and more rebellious. I didn't mean to…" Mrs. Garcia sobbed.

* * *

_"You dye it back, or I swear I will cut the hair myself!" Mrs. Garcia yelled as she followed Allegra outside the motel room, with Allegra's hair dyed._

_"Leave me alone!" Allegra snapped._

_"You ungrateful little bitch!"_

_"I hate you! I've always hated—" Allegra whirled around and gasped and froze at the same time as Mrs. Garcia did as Mrs. Garcia felt something wet on her hand and next thing she knew, Allegra fell back with red soaking her shirt as she panted out and Mrs. Garcia broke down in tears, realizing what had she done as she knelt to her._

_"Allegra. No, no… I'm so sorry… I'm sorry, baby, I didn't mean to, please, don't… I'm so sorry…" Mrs. Garcia sobbed, holding Allegra by her head._

* * *

"You could've called 911. Why didn't you?" Eddie questioned.

"I… don't know. She was dead, when she hit the ground and I… I panicked." Mrs. Garcia sobbed and sniffed.

"All that just for hair?" Patty asked.

"No. It was more. Her attitude, the language, her friends, all of that to spite me. And suddenly, I get another wild child in my family, just like that other brat?" Mrs. Garcia snapped.

"She only missed her cousin. You could've tried to talk to her. You could've tried to reach her. But after you betrayed her trust by following her around, how could you?" Barry asked, glaring at her in disgust and Mrs. Garcia looked away in shame, having nothing to say in her defense.

* * *

Barry was in his lab, sitting and staring outside the window as Joe entered. "Is there something I can do, Bar? You know you can talk to me."

"She didn't have to die, Joe." Barry whispered.

"You're right. She didn't have to die. Barry, don't tell me you're blaming yourself for what happened." Joe said.

"I should've seen the signs sooner. What was going on with Allegra, when we were investigating Becker's death. The sooner we had figured Esperanza out, maybe Allegra wouldn't have—" Barry started.

"Barr… there's no way you could've known. And sometimes, we're too focused on the job that we are unable to perceive the world around us and dwelling on it is not gonna help." Joe said.

"I just keep seeing her face, you know?" Barry said, on verge of tears. "When I am about to walk through the door to another crime scene, I can see her at the doorstep and asking me, 'What happened?' What happened?" He choked out, muffling a sob.

"What happened is that a young girl died because of actions of others, who influenced her life in a way that you couldn't have prevented, even if you had tried and not many other people could have either and there was _nothing_ you could have done to stop it." Joe said and Barry nodded. "You keep telling yourself, 'Maybe I could've done something to save her life.' But the truth is, you couldn't. What's done… is done… and you can't take responsibility for her death and wonder if you could've saved her because you're only punishing yourself by dwelling on it. Let it go, Barry. I'm not saying it will be easy, but you need to accept that there was nothing you could have done for Allegra and move on, otherwise, it's gonna break you."

Barry stared, considering as Joe left and Barry felt tears rolling down his cheeks.

* * *

Sometime later, Barry and Patty approached the motel and approached Allegra's memorial with candles and flowers around and knelt down, placing their flowers at the memorial.

"I know what you're thinking but Allegra's death is not your fault, Barry." Patty said. "Some people you can't save, no matter what you do."

"How am I supposed to move on, when I just know something like this might happen again?" Barry whispered.

"If you're looking for an easy answer, there isn't one. But we can try to make sure that what happened to her, will not happen to anyone else again. It's not only about saving lives, it's about trying to do our best in the world where it's far much easier for the people to do their worst and for us to try and save someone as pure as Allegra was. I'm sure Allegra doesn't blame you either, so don't blame yourself." Patty assured as she held Barry by his shoulder, doing whatever she could to comfort him as he ran his hand down Allegra's photo, mourning for a good soul, whose light had burned out too soon.

"I couldn't help you… but I can try to make sure something like this doesn't happen to anyone again. For you, Allegra." Barry promised.

**Author's Note:**

> This story wasn't really supposed to have a happy ending but I thought that Patty should be the one to bring Barry from the edge, since let's face it, Iris rarely manages to do that with Barry.
> 
> So, what do you guys think?
> 
> Please review and let me know if you have enjoyed this one-shot.
> 
> With regards
> 
> Bl4ckHunter


End file.
